Herbarium

It is remarkable how much of the design of my plots is similar to that of medieval gardens.  A major project during the early spring has been to restructure the main plot in the small allotment.  I am giving up on the idea of it being a field of mixed grain, as it just became a playground for mice when I tried to make it real.  I have reinstated the four beds within a square, which turns out to be a very medieval form.  This time I am wiser, and have totally avoided any type of grass, and instead have made use of the chippings to make crunchy honey beige slug barriers. 

I haven't put a black plastic lining under these chippings, mainly because I didn't have time.  It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference to weed regrowth. 

My Dad massively over ordered seed potatoes by mistake, so it was lucky I had these beds to plant them in.  They've taken up half the area, which still leaves two beds for me to begin to fill with perennial herbs.

I plan to dedicate one bed to herbs for dying.  I have woad seedlings maturing well in my greenhouse.  However, I am finding it very hard to germinate madder.  Perhaps it's because the seed is a couple of years old.  I tried soaking the last batch in warm water, then exposing to cold, as I had read that this helps.  However, no sign of life yet, and it's nearly two weeks since I sowed the seed. 

I also have weld, dyer's greenweed and alkanet seed, which I hope to sow soon.  None of the indigo germinated, so I'll have to try again with that. 

I want to experiment with dying cloth, yarn, soap, candles and paper.  It may be too ambitious to dye candles, as when I experimented with beetroot juice it became clear that the powder must be very fine indeed, otherwise it inhibits the burn. 

Some of the perennials that I intend to plant there are presently in the long allotment, where I moved them to in the autumn so I could prepare the beds they were in for strawberries.  There is no way I am going to traumatise the poor things again by attempting to move them while they are growing, so I'll wait until next autumn.